35 Weeks

We are happy to report that we've made it to week 35 and both Baby Hunt and I continue to do very well! At my last appointment on Tuesday, Baby Hunt's heart was beating 136 bpm, he was measuring right at 34 weeks, my bloodpressure was 120/60, and that weight loss issue is of the past. I also have no signs of swelling and despite waking up a few times in the middle of the night, I have no complaints. Next week is my last week without an appointment - starting the next week I go once a week and get felt up by my OB. Baby Hunt is as active as ever, and I often wonder what exactly he is doing in there. Baby Daddy can see my tummy (I don't like the word belly) move from across the room now and it feels (and looks, from the outside) like he is doing 'the wave'. He is in the correct position, head down and all, but must be curled up because I have yet to get kicked in the ribs, or really anywhere above my bellybutton.

One of our latest projects has been preparing Baby Hunt's Baby Book. I wasn't even sure I was going to do a baby book - I do not scrapbook and figured I wouldn't want to devote much time to it after he is born - until I saw this at Barnes and Noble.

It has spots for all of the typical baby information, and all I have to do is fill it in, add the pictures, and personalize it to Baby Hunt. We've been filling out the sections that we can and are waiting for him to arrive to fill in the rest.

'Our Hopes for Baby Hunt in the Future'

* We hope you will be a healthy, happy little boy.

* We hope you like to sleep like your mom.

* We hope you have more hair than your father.

* We hope you have your mother's temper.

* We hope you are social like your father.

* We hope you love Isabelle like we do.

but who wouldn't?

The Gauntlet has been picked up

Back in April, I rambled on a little bit about the allegiances that Baby Mama's and my families have when it came to agricultural equipment (see the other Gauntlet post). It that post, I had stated that the Gauntlet had been thrown. Well, last weekend when we were at the Grandparents W (go go Edgewood Rodeo Days), the Gauntlet was promptly picked up, and slapped across International Harvester's cheek:


I have a feeling this may keep up for a while ;)

Blessed

As we draw closer to Baby Hunt's due date (5 weeks, 5 days for anyone counting), we realize more each day how blessed we are. We have amazing family and friends who already love our son even though he's not here, and know that they will all be willing to babysit on a moment's notice ;)

Last weekend, Baby Daddy's mom and two sisters (that is, Grandma and Aunts) threw a baby shower for Baby Hunt and helped us to get off on an amazing start. We want to thank everyone again for coming, and sending your best wishes and gifts. The formal thank yous will be sent out soon, but we wanted to let you know that we've already found a home for his new items (and trust me, there is not much room left), set up the necessary equipment, and 'ooh'ed and aah'ed' over every adorable onesie, blanket, towel, etc. many times. And, of course, we documented the process for you all.

We'll title this section 'Man Skills, part 3':

The finished product:

This pack-n-play had me at the owls. I was a goner when I saw its name - 'Little Hoot'.

It is common knowledge that grandparents get special privileges, and again we are blessed to have such wonderful families that we're going to brag up our grandmas here.

This quilt was made by Baby Daddy's Mom's mom. Seriously, is it not the most adorable baby quilt you've ever seen?

This blanket came with an interesting story. When Baby Daddy was born, his grandma (the same that made the letter quilt above) asked another lady in town to crochet a baby blanket for him. She made it and from what I am told, it was Baby Daddy's special Baby Blanket - used at his baptism and special events. We found out at the shower that the lady who made the blanket was actually my grandmother. We were gifted the blanket for Baby Hunt and love the special connection it gives our family.

So, again, we thank everyone for all of the thoughts and gifts we've received over the last seven months. Look forward to many pictures of your adorable outfits, blankets, toys, and books in the months to come as we use them with Baby Hunt.

I don't think you're ready . . .

for this tummy! Alright, enough Beyonce. More Baby Hunt - and trust me, there is a lot of him. I don't know where he thinks he's going to grow in the next 6 weeks . . .

If I could, I would live in this dress and leggings for the next 6 weeks.

This was taken Sunday, June 20 before church, on Baby Daddy's first Father's Day. I am sure the holiday will feel a little more official next year, but Baby Hunt and Izzers tried to make is special this year with some HBO style vampires, a nerdy item yet-to-be-delivered, and some steak (though if it were up to Izzers we would have steak every day).

Two Eyed, Two Eared Prancing Purple Gelpen Eater

This was too good not to share right away. One of those, 'this is funny, but totally not funny' moments. Somedays we feel like we already have a toddler in the house. That toddler is Izzers.

When Izzers was little, we gave her the nickname 'Poodlum' - an appropriate combination of 'puppy' and 'hoodlum'. A year and a half later, she still lives up to that name. This evening, we returned home from lamaze class (more about that in a later post), with a warning from Lora, to find this:

Let's take a closer look:

Oh yes, purple ink in her two front paws, and a little by her mouth. And purple pawprints on the kitchen floor and our furniture. Yes, the furniture (thank you easy-to-clean microfiber sofa).

And the evidence -

32 Week Update

We've made it to week 32, nearly week 33. Only seven weeks left - dear God, please only seven weeks . . .

I just returned from my biweekly appointment and things continue to go well. Baby Hunt's heartbeat was 142 bpm (and sounds oh-so-sweet), my bloodpressure was 108/54 (I hear that I have my Grandma W's low blood pressure), I'm measuring right at 33 weeks, and Baby Hunt is in a favorable position - he even kicked the ob when she pressed on his little butt. One peculiar item - somehow I managed to lose a pound in the past two weeks. I was certain I had gained a couple as I think I've been eating all the time. I was told it was nothing to to worry about as long as it doesn't happen again, so Baby Daddy may be making a couple late-night trips in the next couple of weeks.

Baby Hunt has been very active lately, but has been very good to me. He is quiet when I sleep and seems to be most active in the evenings and after I eat.

As promised, here is a picture from the wedding this weekend. The wedding was beautiful, as were the bride and groom. Yes, this was shamelessly stolen from facebook and is the only one with me so far. If a better one comes along, I will post it.

Ain't My Baby Name. . . Again!

So, I've been informed (about every hour, on the hour ;)) that it's been awhile since I've posted a Baby Name post. So, to finish off this Monday night after a great weekend in Kansas City. BBQ, beer, and Chiefs jersey purchase (something about a wedding too ;)), I'm here to give another name that has been dropped from consideration from Baby Hunt.

Before I reveal the name, I have to state that I am not opposed to this name in the future, nor do I dislike the name (see Garrett, for example), but I just like the other names on our list more. The name is:

Dean. (ducks as Wulfekuhle's throw things at me)

For those that don't know, Dean is Baby Hunt's Grandpa Wulfekuhle's middle name. Again, I don't dislike the name, I just like the names we have left more.

On a programming note, I will make sure to remind Bonnie that she promised a baby bump picture from our trip to KC. With that, good night, and expect a post in a couple weeks on the latest additions to the Baby Hunt Inventory!